Arsenal have been linked with a number of keepers recently, but one of the stronger links was to Hamburg’s Rene Adler. The German shot-stopper has tried to dismiss speculation linking him to Arsenal however, insisting he has ‘never thought’ of leaving:

“I am under contract at Hamburg, this is a fact. I can say that since I have arrived, I have never thought of, or considered, leaving the team.”

He says this only a month after saying this:

“For any player it is an honour to be linked with Arsenal. It is something that inspires me even more, and it is not distracting me.”

He’s either had a slap on the wrist or Arsenal aren’t as interested as they were. Adler’s certainly trying to get himself onside with the Hamburg fans, though whether that’s so they continue to accept him or forgive his transfer is another question.

Back goes the Makh

Marouane Chamakh has conceded it’s very unlikely that he’ll stay at Arsenal past the summer. The Moroccan had an excellent start to his Arsenal career but couldn’t hack being a bit-part player and is currently on loan at West Ham, where he warms the bench for Carlton Cole. Which tells you all you need to know.

In an interview with French paper Sud Ouest,  he admitted he would likely leave Arsenal and expressed interest in returning to his first club, Bordeaux:

“Everybody knows that Bordeaux is my club heart. I know that I must make sacrifices because I cannot stay like this.If I find an agreement with Bordeaux, why not, it is possible. I know there’s little chance that I stay at Arsenal. If I come back to France, it may be that Bordeaux (sign me).”

Chamakh is taking up 80k a week on the wage bill, so let’s hope he returns to his ‘Club heart’ sooner rather than later. I’ll never forget those two goals you scored this season, Marouane.

Song vs Pique

You’ll remember Alex Song, and his move to Barcelona. To the surprise of everybody (nobody), the defensive midfielder isn’t too happy in Catalonia, and during Barcelona’s La Liga trophy parade he was pictured throwing a punch at Gerard Pique.

After attempting to punch the defender (who was part of the ‘Barcelona DNA’ campaign aimed at Cesc Fabregas), Song then successfully slapped him. I like to think Arsenal sold him there just to complete that job. Agent Song, your mission is complete. As a reward, please go straight to Birmingham on loan.

Newcastle

This was seen as the easier of our two run-in games. After the convincing victory over Wigan, I can see this being the more difficult now. Alan Pardew will motivate his team to beat us, because he’s a prat, and Arsenal will have to watch out for the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse, who’ll doubtless bring their best form for the last game of the season (just because).

I can’t see the line-up from Wigan changing (with one exception) , though Olivier Giroud is now available. I think the Frenchman will start on the bench and come on when we’re struggling (sorry for the pessimism) in the second half. After all, Newcastle’s defending isn’t that much better than Wigan’s, so the Cazorla-Podolski-Walcott forward line may be a success.

The only change that will be made, out of necessity, is Mikel Arteta. He’s been given a ‘very small’ chance to play on Sunday, and chances are he won’t be risked. It will be interesting to see who replaces him in the pivot. I imagine it will be Wilshere, with Ramsey taking over Arteta’s role with Wilshere box-to-boxing, as against West Ham in January.

Expected line-up

Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Ramsey, Wilshere; Cazorla, Rosicky, Walcott; Podolski

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